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Accolades

"This three-story white stucco inn, once an apartment building, reflects Bohemian architecture. European-style rooms with tan walls, red furnishings, and duvets center around a brick courtyard and have coved plaster and antique doorknobs. At Aubergine, which has a 4,500 bottle wine collection, "the nicely varied menu" plumbs the riches of local farmers' markets."

World's Best Places to Stay "Gold List" - Conde Nast Traveler - January 2010

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Top 500 World's Best Hotels List
Travel & Leisure - January 2010

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"L’Auberge Carmel, a member of the prestigious International Relais & Chateaux Hotel group, is located on a quiet street in the heart of Carmel. It is a charming, romantic, small luxury inn with a European country character coupled with European professional service and to round things off a superb young chef from France producing some of the best cuisine in California.

At the hotel restaurant, Aubergine, a world-class chef in Christophe Grosjean from France produces some of the best food in California in a tiny, romantic, 12-table restaurant in L'Auberge Carmel on a quiet street in Carmel-by-the-Sea. A couple times a week he goes to the nearby Monterey Farmers Market himself to get nothing but the freshest ingredients..." Restaurant: Four Chef Rating

Gourmet Voyageurs.com - Winter 2009 issue

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"The delightful brick courtyard of the European-style hotel (1929) all but vibrates with local history. The tile, metalwork and statuary were imported from Spain, and the building was modeled after a home in Prague. It once was an apartment house with a number of famous tenants, including internationally renowned modernist artist Henrietta Shore, a contemporary of Georgia O'Keefe. The on-site Aubergine restaurant stores its wine cache of 4,500 bottles in a cellar beneath the courtyard."

Sacramento Bee - Carmel's a fairy tale village - November 8, 2009

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Readers' Choice, #11 Best Small Hotel in the United States
Conde Nast Traveler - November 2009

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"Executive pastry chef Ron Mendoza won first place in the “most innovative” category for his “Strawberries and Basil” dessert in the annual Golden Scoop Awards. The competition was held in New York City in June 2009. Professional bakers, confectioners, and pastry chefs from all over the country sent in submissions with finalists chosen and invited to come to New York to plate their desserts for a panel of judges. Everyone enjoyed the spectacle of seeing and tasting the inventive desserts and appetizing treats being created in America's pastry kitchens. Along with an engraved Golden Scoop and jacket patch, Ron received 100 pounds of chocolate from E. Guittard, a 20-year-anniversary World Pastry Cup book from the Almond Board of California, and his class of at The French Culinary Institute. Ron will also be featured in the January/February issue of Food Arts magazine."

Golden Scoop Award - June 2009

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"Last year we touted L'Auberge Carmel as one of our ultimate Gourmet Getaways, and we're not the only press to bestow tiny Aubergine restaurant with accolades. Frankly, even if the food was just good (rather than sublime), we'd still love the charming French chef at the helm. Christophe Grosjean learned to appreciate food as everyone should: from his grandmother.

Though his culinary background is impressive, this is another chef that doesn't need validation based on where he's been, since where his is happens to be one of the Central Coast's true gems. At Aubergine, Chef Grosjean creates exquisite dishes that honor the best of our local bounty. The tasting menu is a celebration of flavor and form, as each beautiful offering represents the passion this delightful chef has for his craft...

Ultimate Chef, Central Coast Magazine - May 2009

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"Word of Mouth: The Monterey region has upped its culinary chops in recent years. Free-swinging new executive chef Christophe Grosjean and pastry chef Ron Mendoza have moved Aubergine at L'Auberge Carmel in Carmel-by-the- Sea, up the leaderboard."

Conde Nast Traveler, June 2009

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"Just off the main street in the middle of the "charming, quaint artists' colony," this 1929 three story wood and stucco building has "a European-villa atmosphere." Rooms have French windows and heated bathroom floors; upper-story digs offer glimpses of Carmel Bay. At the 12-table Aubergine, the chef will create an exclusive tasting menu for you."

"This European-style property re-opened in 2004 after undergoing tremendous renovations. L'Auberge Carmel has been reinvigorated with contemporary luxury, but hasn't lost any of its individual charm. The hotel's 20 guest rooms reflect a refined style that mingles appropriately with the coastal setting. Aubergine, the on-site dining room, sets an elegant table with a modern French approach to California cuisine. Executive chef Christophe Grosjean has worked previously in one-,two-, and three-star restaurants, and he aims to set the culinary bar just as high at this lovely retreat."

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"Top 10 New Restaurants in U.S"
Gayot.com - November 2008

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17 Rating
"Christophe Grosjean takes the helm at restaurateur David Fink's most polished of his empire. Grosjean jettisoned Carmel Valley's Marinus after eight years in the shadows. He's landed now and soars at Aubergine (the restaurant renamed at the same time). Grosjean's courses come to the table in symphonic harmony. Oysters blend with wild watercress in a textural vichyssoise softened by crème fraîche, summoned by sea beans, surprised by a gelée of North Atlantic Beausoleil oysters. Sweetness shines in a white corn and Maine lobster pudding; regional tastes blend with tarragon and caramelized ginger in an herbal ambrosia. Don't leave a bit on the plate---that's what the small army of miniature breads (brioche and rosemary rule) are for. Slowly cooked red abalone does not lose a moist beat in Grosjean's hands. Its artichoke barigoule accompaniment adds salaciousness with bacon and wild green onion attendants. The scent of vanilla floats from foie gras, the liver specked with the fragrant bean, allayed by Marcona almonds and young apricots just picked from the local farmer's market. A new cooking season is celebrated with this inaugural offspring: a braise of verdant green English peas steadying roasted lamb loin shank. Then it’s chocolate and cherries for dessert, here, hidden beneath a warm chocolate mousse as if to say "surprise!" Leave it to pastry chef and French Laundry alum Ron Mendoza to leave a lasting sweet impression. And so it goes, course for course. Grosjean is happy to cook as long or as little as you can eat. Just name your journey and he shows you the way in three, four or five courses. Wine pairings take on a personal touch with wine director Thomas Perez looking after the underground cellar. If selections can be both humble and daring, then his are. Intimidation evaporates with his soft spoken explanations. With only twelve tables, the intimacy level gets up close and personal, all the better for the warm and attentive waitstaff to attend to your every impulse."
Gayot.com - June 2008

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"A stunning new five-star inn housed in a renovated 1929 inn, L'Auberge has 20 luxuriously appointed guest rooms decorated in the Provence style. The service is highly personalized and the 12-table restaurant serves a sumptuous breakfast and delicious dinner. While in Carmel, dine at either of the inn's outstanding sister restaurants; Bouchée and Cantinetta Luca."
The 10 Best of Everything: An Ultimate Guide for Travelers - second edition
Nathaniel Lane & Andrew Lande

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Top 500 World's Best Hotels List
Travel & Leisure -  January 2008

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The World's Best Places to Stay "Gold List"
"At this wood-and-stucco inn four blocks from Carmel Beach, activity centers around the brick courtyard. Sophisticated and romantic rooms in forest tones have original black-and-white photography by Helmut Horn. The 12-table restaurant marries contemporary California cuisine with European influences to wine from its 4,500 bottle collection. Everyone must try the tasting menu once —11 outstanding courses over four hours."
Conde Nast Traveler -  January 2008

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"L'Auberge Carmel, #29 Hotel in United States."
Conde Nast Traveler, Readers' Choice Awards - November 2007

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“...cubes of pristine ahi tuna are flecked with chorizo, flavored with saffron and topped with halos of pickled fennel. Harmonious yet provocative, the fushion foreshadows a meal that proved flawless from start to finish.

The menu here is an eight-course prix fixe that somehow stretches out to a dozen or more plates. It’s a smart move that flexible foodies will approve of allowing chef Tim Mosblech to devote all his attention and creativity to a defined canvas. The result is fireworks at every turn, but the long journey never felt showy, contrived or tiresome...
Oakland Tribune - May 25, 2007

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“...With just 20 richly appointed guestrooms, L’Auberge, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is a study in texture, color and form. Muted sage plaster walls host original photography and French windows. Mahogany beds feature rich tapestry pillows with brocade duvets in deep shades of burgundy and luxurious bedding. Tile bathrooms have radiant heated floors, hammered copper sinks and, in some rooms, soaking tubs. Some rooms overlook the flower-filled courtyard, while those on the street side allow a peak at Carmel Bay over the pine trees.

Upon arriving, guests are greeted with a glass of sparkling house made soda, and seated at a desk in what feels like a front parlor for check in. This same area attracts guests at cocktail hour and beyond to indulge in fine scotches and martinis...

The restaurant at L’Auberge offers a prix fixe tasting menu that is driven by explosions of flavor and exquisite execution...While the lineup of tastes varies, executive chef Tim Mosblech typically presents a selection of world cuisines made from fresh, local ingredients...While tasting menus elsewhere can sometimes still leave you wanting, diners at L’Auberge are left completely satiated and content after this transcendent meal...”
Central Coast Magazine - May 2007

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Top 500 World's Best Hotels List
"New to list: L'Auberge Carmel - European-style inn built around a brick courtyard, in the center of town. An unbeatable location; in the heart of the village and blocks from the beach. Rooms at the building's front have a tucked-away treehouse feel and offer a glimpse of Carmel Bay. Don't miss the inventive tasting menu at the 12-table restaurant."
Travel & Leisure -  January 2007

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California Dreamin'
Built in 1929, the European-style L'Auberge Carmel is anything but antiquated. Instead, the decor is a warm French chic. Guests enter on the street level to the inn's 12-table restaurant and a lobby/lounge that calls for sipping Champagne over a game of checkers. Inside, a set of stairs leads up to a geranium-dotted courtyard from which 20 guest rooms fan out. Waiting inside is down bedding made for a leisurely breakfast in bed—notably, L'Auberge's daily fare of coddled eggs and pastries. Creature comforts come by way of deep-soaking tubs, heated bathroom floors, and scrumptious homemade cookies at turndown.

A doorway in L'Auberge Carmel's back hallway leads to the wine cellar where candlelight reflects off the 4,500 bottle wine collection. Toast over a wine-themed dinner paired with dishes, including Red Abalone, Italian Butter Beans, and Manilla Clams. Another great place to experience the exeutive chef's creations is sister restaurant Bouchée with its double-sided fireplace and offerings such as Liberty duck breast with wild French asparagus, barley and duckport wine sauce to sate the palate.
Los Angeles Weddings - Spring 2007

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"Fifteen charmers captured our hearts for this year’s annual round-up. L’Auberge Carmel - This oasis of comfort, privacy, and five-star cuisine may be the Pacific Rim’s best-kept secret. Surely not for long. Checking into one of 20 welcoming yet refined rooms, with hinged windows inviting sea-pine breezes and huge tubs atop a heated marble floor—what more could you ask for? Nothing, but if you can think of it, you’ll get it. It’s as though you’re the occupant of a fully staffed private estate. In L’Auberge’s 12-table restaurant chef Walter Manzke presents an eclectic progression of gems from the land and sea, accompanied by impeccable tasting wines and top-notch service."
Coastal Living - October 2006

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"L'Auberge Carmel, #37 Hotel in United States."
Conde Nast Traveler, Readers' Choice Awards - November 2006

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#20 - America’s Top 50 Restaurants
“Even as many a frazzled city chef is fantasizing about opening a little place in the country, Walter Manzke, previously of the high-powered Patina, in Los Angeles, is living the dream. But he’s not cooking country at the intimate 12-table L’Auberge Carmel. From Thai-inspired riffs on sates and spring rolls to Syrah-braised Wagyu beef short ribs and silky olive-oil-poached tilefish that appears to have washed ashore in a Meyer lemon foam, the dishes on his elegant tasting menu reveal his mastery of pure, focused flavors and faraway cuisines. Before Manzke, no one would have expected to find a dinner they’d talk about for weeks in the sleeply village of Carmel.”
Gourmet - October 2006

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#22 in the Top 100 Continental U.S. and Canada Hotels World's Best Awards Annual list and #83 on Top 100 Hotel in the World List
Travel & Leisure -  August 2006

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“Open since 2004, L’Auberge Carmel raises the bar for high-end accommodations in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The building, constructed in 1929, is a particularly formidable example of the town’s distinctive Old World-inspired architecture but has been updated and outfitted with modern amenities. Rooms are stylish, with custom-designed mahogany beds, richly textured linens and walls painted in serene sage tones. The bathrooms are spacious and have heated travertine floors. Weather permitting, breakfast is served in an enclosed brick courtyard brimming with French country charm. Dinner is served daily in the 12-table restaurant adjacent to the lobby.

Dinner at L’Auberge Carmel is like an evening with a brilliant conversationalist who has attention deficit disorder: fascinating but peripatetically challenging. On a recent evening, chef Walter Manzke offered an eight-course tasting menu that started in Mexico then hop scotched to Japan, Thailand, France and Italy. Were it not for the consistent excellence, that much travel might be discomfiting.

Manzke crafts highly inventive food with precise, intense flavors meant to startle and delight. Starters included a plump Kumomoto oyster with a shot of tart green apple juice, followed by a Japanese course of four variations of raw Maine scallop. Another dish offered juicy squab over decadently rich calamarata pasta stuffed with a truffled mouse of foie gras and sweetbreads...”
Wine Spectator, June 2006

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“Most people leave their hearts in San Francisco, but one visit to L’Auberge Carmel could have those same people singing a different tune. Designed by famed architect Albert Farr, L’Auberge features 20 guest rooms in an intimate, historic setting. The inn, built in 1929, underwent a complete renovation in August 2004 and has since blossomed into a luxury hotel destination. For example, you don’t have to be a sommelier to appreciate the inn’s 4,500-bottle wine cellar or a master chef to enjoy its 12-table restaurant. Anchored by executive chef Walter Manzke, the Restaurant at L’Auberge Carmel pairs straight-from-the-farm recipes with contemporary California cuisine, featuring meat, fish and vegetarian entrees. Bouchée, L’Auberge Carmel’s sister restaurant, is within walking distance, just three blocks from the inn. After a hearty meal and a bottle of the finest wine, retire to your European-inspired room. Complete with soaking tubs, French windows, antique doorknobs and floor heating, the bedrooms are reminiscent of those in a more provincial setting. That’s not to say that the California coast is easily forgotten at L’Auberge—original Helmut Horn photographs of the Carmel area hang in each room.”
21 Spectacular Summer Getaways, Phoenix Magazine, June 2006

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“L’Auberge Carmel comes to Carmel with historic suites, coddled eggs, and one meal to die for.
The Allure: You can now spend your entire weekend preparing for, eating, and recovering from chef Walter Manzke’s many-course tasting dinner in the 12-table restaurant at L’Auberge Carmel. Of course, you don’t have to stay at the inn to eat this meal. Nor do you have to eat there to stay in the beautifully renovated inn, a wood-frame and stucco building with a flower-filled brick courtyard inspired by the first owner’s trip to Prague. Its cozy 20 guest rooms still feature richly painted, coved plaster walls and French windows, though now you can watch a flat-panel TV from under your fluffy duvet and brocade cover, and the large bathrooms have radiant floor heating and soaking tubs. In keeping with the Euro-luxe theme, a glass dish of pistachios, green olives, and sweet-and-spicy nuts waits in your room, and the breakfast features coddled eggs and warm croissants.

The Palate: Oh, that dinner. You’d think five Iron Chefs were competing in the kitchen. Manzke creates 8 to 10 small but elaborate and often inspired courses. Your evening might start with his signature “deconstructed lobster taco,” and then move on to hamachi prepared three ways, a mini Thai feast, and a super succulent short rib with foie gras plus an array of Kobe beef. He may throw in a cheese course on the way to the creme brulee and chocolate panna cotta, and wrap up with two homemade chocolates flavored with banana and caramel. We’re overlooking a few courses and the sommelier’s generous pourings of wine paired with each course. Frankly, it will be too much for some. But others may agree with Mae West: ‘Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.’
San Francisco Magazine- May 2006

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“L’Auberge Carmel, a 20 room hotel in Carmel is beautiful...rooms meander on different levels...we saw people in the courtyard doing watercolor paintings...

L’Auberge Carmel restaurant is the stage for an impressive chef, Walter Manzke, to do his thing...he’s very passionate, he’s an artist, it’s food as an art form. He presented a 12-course menu to us...get the folks to pair the wine with your meal...

My favorite was the Maine diver scallops with Thai curry soup, so flavorful...little tiny bits of fresh fruit in the soup; lime, mango, they were like star bursts, great intense flavors. Walter likes to do these things which he calls “waters”. It’s a clear glass of what looks like water. Then taste it. It tastes like a lobster cocktail...Course after course with wine, it was stunning. A dining experience not to be forgotten.

David Fink is a hotelier of great consequence. Providing the kind of experience in a hotel and restaurant that is perfect. Perfect but friendly, perfect but compatible, perfect, it delivers.”
Gene Burns, Dining Around Show, KGO - San Francisco - April 1, 2006

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"L'Auberge Carmel restores the balance of Carmel's natural setting and the onset of upscale tourism by reconverting a well-known 1929 three-story, wood-and-stucco building with a brick courtyard (now hiding beneath it a 4,500 bottle wine cellar) into one of the loveliest and most evocative of inns on the Pacific coast. Owner David Fink, who also runs Bouchée and comes with a long rásumá of running fine hotels in the area, has refurbished the 20 guest rooms, adding modern bathrooms with hammered copper sinks. His wife Kathleen did the interior design, which includes dramatically beautiful photography of the area by Helmut Horn.  The service staff hits that dear equilibrium of friendliness and taut efficiency that's become the hallmark of the best American hospitality. The dining room at L'Auberge Carmel, under Chef Walter Manzke, his wife, pastry chef Margarita, and sommelier Thomas Perez, is an attempt to reflect the style of Napa Valley's vaunted French Laundry... Thus you might begin, as did I, with a starter called "Water," by which tomato water is a motif for a tiny shrimp on a stick, a tinier "deconstructed lobster taco," and a little pouf called "Bloody Mary." This was followed by more tomato preparations, including a single scallop with California caviar, a dish of watermelon with Speck ham and extra virgin olive oil and fine-grained tuna with Asian pepper and yuzu. From here the evening swirled with dishes like Dungeness crab with a corn-curry soup, Vietnamese salad and spicy peanut sauce and a superb red abalone with fingerling potato fourchette and lobster-truffle sauce. So often abalone, which is very expensive, isn't worth the effort or money; this dish was, tender and flavorful on its own and well served by its ingredients. A Snake River Farm Kobe-style ribeye of beef with Syrah-braised short rib "Rossini," which was absolutely delicious but, despite all the food up to that point, I could have eaten yet another rib, despite its richness. Then came tiny cuts of cheese, then two desserts, the better being chocolate beignets with hazelnut hot chocolate and banana ice cream. I haven't listed all the courses I had, some wonderful, others mere conceits...L'Auberge Carmel is a special place not because of its location but because it actually enhances its location, and the restaurant here is aiming very high, beyond anything on this stretch of the California coast right now."
John Mariani, Mariani's Virutal Gourmet Newsletter - November 13, 2005

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"L'Auberge Carmel, #42 Hotel in United States."
Conde Nast Traveler, Readers' Choice Awards - November 2005

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"...For twenty years, some of the country's top chefs have been cooking at a benefit for Citymeals-on-Wheels (NYC). This year, they're also paying tribute to some chefs they think you should know. This year, to celebrate the anniversary, each of the star chefs was asked to select a future star to join them in cooking at the event. Twenty years from now, these up-and-coming talents will be the ones making their triumphant return to Rockefeller Center. And if you don't already know them, you soon will.

Here's why.

Joachim Splichal, a famously inventive chef, chose someone with a style as eclectic as his own, Walter Manzke, who has worked with Alain Ducasse and Ferran Adria, likes to "take flavor that everyone knows and put it in a different form." His first restaurant was Bouchée. At L'Auberge Carmel, which has an intimate 12 tables, he deconstructs lobster tacos into something new, exciting, shocking."
Gourmet magazine, Behind the Stove"Cooking for a Cause" - October 2005

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"Open barely a year, L'Auberge Carmel formerly known as the Sundial Lodge, has been fully renovated from the original 1929 structure. David Fink, formerly general manager of both Highlands Inn (where my wife and I were married) and The Lodge at Pebble Beach, along with his interior designer wife, Kathleen, have done a wonderful job refurbishing the 20 guest rooms. Our room was small, but decorated in very good taste. The best reason to visit L'Auberge Carmel, however, is to dine in the exquisite restaurant under the passionate direction of Executive Chef Walter Manzke. A seven-course tasting menu blew us away with the likes of a "deconstructed" lobster taco, Kampachi sashimi, Dungeness crab and Thai curry soup, olive oil poached Alaskan halibut, and "BLT" featuring Tasmanian sea trout...all paired superbly with wines like 2002 Dr. Loosen Riesling Kabinett and 2002 Testarossa Pinot Noir. Fink and Manzke also operate Bouchée, a few blocks away in downtown Carmel."
Gentry magazine, "Musings on Monterey, A Must Visit" - September 2005

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"L'Auberge Carmel— the talk of the town, this rarefied new inn is just what Carmel needed: a full-service hotel oozing with elegance. Carved out of a 1929 adobe-style building in a prime location, sumptuous rooms are draped in red brocade fabric and outfitted with stunning dark wood furniture and plasma screen TVs. Rooms overlook the sea (a few short blocks away) or a picturesque brick courtyard hiding within. The maids in black-and-white frocks make L'Auberge Carmel feel more like a French manor than a California B&B. It's the most European experience you'll find in town that's not short on things Continental. The tiny restaurant at street level may become as much of a draw as the hotel."

"Time and money are what you'll need-in excess- at this dazzling new restaurant in the hotel of the same name. Chef Walter Manzke has trained with the best, from Alain Ducasse in France to Joachim Splichal at L.A.'s Patina. The prix-fixe menu changes nightly and includes up to 18 courses that may be paired with a remarkable selection of French and California wines. Course after course, tiny, delicate bites—you might taste Arctic char (a cousin salmon) with Monterey abalone, diver scallop sashimi, and Kobe beef pot-au-feau—keep coming in a culinary experience reminiscent of The French Laundry. With only 12 tables, it may be the most intimate dining room on the California coast. Also try Manzke's Bouchée restaurant on Mission between Ocean and Seventh."
Diablo Magazine, August 2005

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"Combining the French techniques he learned under Alain Ducasse with the creativity he absorbed in Spain at Ferran Adrian's El Bulli, L'Auberge Carmel's executive chef Walter Manzke creates petite, full-flavored dishes sure to seduce the most jaded gastronome. Opened in August 2004 and located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, the intimate restaurant is the centerpiece of a landmark European-style inn. L'Auberge diners begin their evenings with an amuse bouche such as the paella—a rendition of the Spanish classic that is compacted into one assertive bite and served with Champagne. Manzke, a San Diego native, has a penchant for Mexican-influenced dishes such as lobster taco, which he separates into three components: clarified tomato and cilantro juice, presented in a shot glass with a single tortilla chip (he calls this chips and salsa); a spoonful of guacamole and lobster; and a second shot glass with lime sorbet with a few drops of reposado tequila, which gives the item the essence of a margarita but not the effect."
Robb Report, "Best of the Best "- June 2005

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"...Fink, the former general manager of Highlands Inn, has transformed the 1920s-era hotel into a destination luxury hotel, with 20 rooms.

Several years ago, he and his chef, Walter Manzke, opened Bouchée, probably the best restaurant in Carmel. Now, Manzke also oversees the French Laundry-esque multi-course cuisine at L'Auberge. But unlike the Yountville institution, Manzke takes his inspiration from the entire world rather than primarily France. Our favorite taste from the nine-course tasting menu was the Southeast Asian Dungeness crab-curry soup."
San Francisco Chronicle, The Inside Scoop - May 18, 2005

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"At Carmel restaurants, menus take advantage of the day's catch and harvest as well as the region's vintage wines. Young Walter Manzke presides over the two best restaurants in town—and on the Northern California Coast: the Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel, featuring a gourmet tasting menu, and Bouchée, an intimate bistro with beamed ceilings and hammered-copper accents. At Bouchée, the California-Mediterranean menu offers dishes such as abalone infused with black-truffle sauce and the best beef short ribs you'll ever encounter."
Physicians' Travel, Sidetrip San Francisco: "Monterey - Miles of seacoast celebrate the California dream with stunning vistas and outdoor living" - February 2005

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"...a newly renovated inn dating to 1929 and modeled after a building in Prague. Its 20 rooms contain luxe furnishings, beddings and materials, including antique travertine tiles with radiant floor heating and stand-alone tubs, as well as flat-panel tvs and wireless internet access..." San Francisco Chronicle, "A Stroll through classic Carmel" - February 6, 2005

How do you top yourself when you already run Bouchée, one of the best restaurants in town? In the case of chef Walter Manzke (formerly of L.A.’s acclaimed Patina) and co-owners David and Kathleen Fink, the answer is: Think small. At the team’s newest venture, there are only 12 tables—and just a single tasting menu offered nightly. The results, however, are big and impressive—taking dining this central California town to a whole new level. Manzke is at the top of his game; David is the consummate host; and Kathleen has overseen each detail of the stunning decor, from interior design to tableware. It’s an elegant jewel box of a place, perfectly suited to this postcard-pretty hamlet. And if you need a place to stay, the trio has taken care of that that, too: The restaurant just happens to be part of their new 20-room inn, another successful collaboration. "
Bon Appetit, Best of the Year, Restaurant Hot Seat, January 2005

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“Understanding the French word “degustations” is essential before experiencing dinner at L’Auberge Carmel, David Fink’s extraordinary restaurant in his beautifully restored 1929 hotel. The word means “tastings,,” and if one were not cognizant of that, the incredible array of dishes with bite-size portions of culinary delights put before you during a seven-course marathon would astound.

Executive Chef Walter Manzke works with such creativity, dedication and intensity in his immaculate new kitchen at L’Auberge...David Fink has created a hotel restaurant that might well be the envy of hoteliers anywhere, and Walter Manzke and chef de cuisine Tim Mosblech evidently never falter in their quest for the delightfully different. Margarita Manzke is in charge of pastry production and Captain Giulliano Costagliola runs a smooth-flowing dining room. If you want to cosset yourself and loved ones, I can think of no better way than to spend three hours over dinner at L’Auberge.
Carmel Pine Cone, November 26, 2004

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"In one of California's prettiest and most affluent seaside towns there has appeared a small hotel which is a model of luxury and good taste. It is also home to a remarkable dining room. Suspend your disbelief for a moment, and you will be convinced that L'Auberge Carmel is a Michelin two starred restaurant with rooms, which has flown in from Alsace. But no, this is an entirely American enterprise , although, significantly, its guiding spirit is an enthusiastic Francophile. I first met David Fink, one of the founders of the famous Masters of Food & Wine. It was clear then, from his evident skill, knowledge and expertise, that he was one of California's top hoteliers...and now he has poured his many talents (and those of his wife Kathleen, who has supervised the interior decoration) into L'Auberge. Kathleen Fink has done a splendid job with the interior, which is comfortable, elegant and stylish...
Walter Manzke is a cook of prodigious talent. His approach, while, of course, making full use of local ingredients , is basically French, allied to an exquisite and painterly presentation which is clearly influenced by Japanese traditions. The kitchen...I would confidently expect, were it in France, to be awarded two Michelin stars. It is truly that good."
Francis Bown, Bownsbest.com, Reuters London, October 2004

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"Originally built in 1929, this renovated inn experienced a much-anticipated opening in August 2004. Owner David Fink, of Carmel's highly acclaimed Bouchée restaurant, restored the property to reflect the mood of its European-style architecture and capture the village in the woods feel of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Rooms are spacious, and bathrooms are unusually large and come with heated floors. Accommodations feature French windows, rich tones and attention to detail in such finishings as ornate antique doorknobs. The highlight of the inn is The Restaurant at L'Auberge Carmel, where Chef Walter Manzke of Bouchée is able to focus individually on patrons, as there are only twelve tables. A wine cellar has been constructed underneath the inn's beautifully landscaped courtyard. The location is great, within walking distance to Ocean Avenue shops and restaurants. " Four Key rating
Gayot.com, October 7, 2004

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"This newcomer is an entirely fresh flavor for a town in love with its own cuteness. Yes, the 1929 building's pitched gabled roofs and green shuttered windows surrounding a red brick courtyard have a Euro quaintness that verges on cute, but the rooms rely on the charms of the finest fabrics, flat-screen TVs, and a tasteful, vaguely Deco look that steers clear of flowery, fussy or frilly. Before taking on this project, the owner was the GM at tony spots like the Highlands Inn and the Lodge at Pebble Beach, so even demanding guests will be in good hands. If you're a shopper, walk a block to the main drag; if you're a dreamer, walk the other direction into neighborhoods of bungalows with names like Our Reward and ponder what you'd name your own."
San Francisco magazine, Lisa Trottier, October 2004

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"Luxury Sweet...Looking forward to eating at David and Kathleen's Fink's new joint, L'Auberge Carmel. I think I might book a couple of nights stay in one of the delicious rooms of this newly renovated 1920s European country-style establishment. Dinner in the intimate 30-seat dining room, with food by the formidable Walter Manzke, in a lovely setting, will be a guaranteed joy. The project is complete, so stop down and see what Carmelites are so excited about. Monte Verde and Seventh, Carmel-by-the-Sea."
Coast Weekly, Raymond Napolitano, August 5, 2004

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"In the heart of this seaside California town (opening mid-July), with 20 rooms and a 12-table restaurant whose chef, Walter Manzke, also runs Bouchée restaurant, a few blocks away. Look for an organic garden, an underground wine cellar, and a menu straight from the local produce markets."
Gourmet magazine, William Sertl, July 2004

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"L'Auberge Carmel, Monte Verde at Seventh, Carmel-by-the-Sea, formerly Sundial Lodge, has been restored by new owners David & Kathleen Fink, who also own Carmel's newest and much acclaimed restaurant, Bouchée. The auberge is one of the most beautiful structures in our town, purely French in style, designed by noted San Francisco architect Albert Farr for Allen Knight and constructed in 1929 by Carmel's premier master builder, M.J. Murphy. The former much beloved Chez Felix restaurant, within the hotel, has been renovated and is now a 12-table dining room oversee by executive chef Walter Manzke of Bouchée. Contemporary California cuisine with European influences will predominate. The wine cellar, built under the inn's brick courtyard, will house a 5,000 bottle collection. The auberge opens to the public on Sunday, August 1. The hotel restaurant will be open nightly from 5:30. Breakfast and lunch are reserved for hotel guests only."
Carmel Pine Cone, Margot Petit Nichols, July 30, 2004

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"...A couple of years ago, David Fink, the former GM of the Highlands Inn, left to open Bouchée, his own restaurant and wine store in Carmel. It's become one of the most popular restaurants in this seaside town. Now he's back in the hotel business and in July will open a 20-room luxury inn, L'Auberge Carmel, in the classic Spanish-style building on Monte Verde Street that used to be the funky Sundial Lodge.

An extensive renovation of the building and rooms in underway, with the goal being of keeping the historic, European look, including the central courtyard. Under the main courtyard will be a 12,000-bottle wine cellar.

Bouchée chef Walter Manzke will oversee the inn's 30-seat as-yet-unnamed restaurant. He plans to create a wine-friendly destination restaurant with a contemporary California menu, sourced from farmers markets...."
San Francisco Chronicle, GraceAnn Walden, May 19, 2004